6 ms·

Ask HN: what is your recommended 3 monitor setup

4 points by Mikosia 14y ago

I am a developer on MS W7 platform and looking to get a 3 monitor setup. I am confused by the number of options - should I just get a multi-monitor hub or get one with multiple video cards? TIA

PythonDeveloper 14y ago
First, check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-monitor#Multi-display_setups_in_the_workplace http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-monitor#Multi-display_set... You definitely want a good video card, but you can pick up an nVidia 660 or Radeon 6770 for under $200. You'll need that should you ever do anything, like games, that requires a dedicated graphics card. I recommend you then attach that to a Matrox TripleHead2Go: http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/th2go/displayport/ http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/th2go/display... This is what I use to mount my monitors: http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=multi+monitor+display&hl=en&cid=17562374773094157369&ei=8mpqUNvgL6amsgekrICIBw&ved=0CCsQrhI http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=multi+monitor+displ... (originally posted wrong one) Enjoy! It's awesome!
- trin_ 14y ago
  why should he get that matrox thing if a <150€ ati gpu can run 3 monitors without any problems on its own? the TripleHead2Go seems to be something you'd use for a laptop.
ishbits 14y ago
Prefer a video card setup that can drive 3 monitors over the Matrox things. The Matrox thing will make 2 or more monitors appear as one. Under Linux you can hack xinerama to deal with this. The Mac support makes it annoying to use. I haven't tried with windows but I imagine its ok there. But get a modern card that can drive 3 monitors. It should be eaiser. I've been running 3 24" screens for years now. But am thinking of going to one 27.
- Mikosia 14y ago
  could you recommend a video card for 3 monitors?
  - ishbits 14y ago
    I used to use 2 NVidia cards. 9500GTs to be exact. Nothing special about these cards other than they had dual DVI output. Nowadays I just use one card with 2 monitors (Linux), and use synergy to bring in a 3rd monitor from a MacBook. If I were doing triple displays today, I'd look at something from ATI with Eyefinity.
hoka 14y ago
Is there a reason you're considering 3 monitors vs 2 (larger) ones? Not implying that 2 monitors is better than 3, just making sure you've considered that possibility.

4 points by Mikosia 14y ago

I am a developer on MS W7 platform and looking to get a 3 monitor setup. I am confused by the number of options - should I just get a multi-monitor hub or get one with multiple video cards? TIA

PythonDeveloper 14y ago

First, check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-monitor#Multi-display_setups_in_the_workplace http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-monitor#Multi-display_set... You definitely want a good video card, but you can pick up an nVidia 660 or Radeon 6770 for under $200. You'll need that should you ever do anything, like games, that requires a dedicated graphics card. I recommend you then attach that to a Matrox TripleHead2Go: http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/th2go/displayport/ http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/th2go/display... This is what I use to mount my monitors: http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=multi+monitor+display&hl=en&cid=17562374773094157369&ei=8mpqUNvgL6amsgekrICIBw&ved=0CCsQrhI http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=multi+monitor+displ... (originally posted wrong one) Enjoy! It's awesome!

trin_ 14y ago
why should he get that matrox thing if a <150€ ati gpu can run 3 monitors without any problems on its own? the TripleHead2Go seems to be something you'd use for a laptop.

ishbits 14y ago

Prefer a video card setup that can drive 3 monitors over the Matrox things. The Matrox thing will make 2 or more monitors appear as one. Under Linux you can hack xinerama to deal with this. The Mac support makes it annoying to use. I haven't tried with windows but I imagine its ok there. But get a modern card that can drive 3 monitors. It should be eaiser. I've been running 3 24" screens for years now. But am thinking of going to one 27.

Mikosia 14y ago
could you recommend a video card for 3 monitors?
- ishbits 14y ago
  I used to use 2 NVidia cards. 9500GTs to be exact. Nothing special about these cards other than they had dual DVI output. Nowadays I just use one card with 2 monitors (Linux), and use synergy to bring in a 3rd monitor from a MacBook. If I were doing triple displays today, I'd look at something from ATI with Eyefinity.

hoka 14y ago

Is there a reason you're considering 3 monitors vs 2 (larger) ones? Not implying that 2 monitors is better than 3, just making sure you've considered that possibility.